The 2007 Australian Candidate Study is the eighth in a series of election studies on federal election candidates. In 2007, candidates from the following parties were surveyed - Australian Labor Party, Liberal Party of Australia, National Party of Australia, Australian Democrats, Australian Greens, Pauline Hanson's One Nation, Family First Party and Citizens Electoral Council of Australia.
The study examined the prominent election issues, including attitudes to particular economic issues, and opinions on which are the most critical problems facing Australia. Opinions on other political issues such as security relations with other countries, assistance for Aborigines and women, and social issues such as abortion and pornography were also sought. A section on demography and representation includes questions on the Australian democratic system, the role of the Monarchy and referendums
In addition, the survey asked questions relating to the political background, such as electoral history, party political involvement and membership of community organisations. A section on campaigning asked for the amount of time candidates spent on campaign activities and the amount of support received from various sources.
Background variables include age, country of birth, age when left school, number of years of tertiary study, religion, frequency of attending religious services, marital status, House contested and party affiliated with. Some of these variables have been grouped to ensure confidentiality for the candidates.

Parliamentary candidates for 24 November, 2007 Federal election from the following political parties: Australian Labor Party, Liberal Party of Australia, National Party of Australia, Australian Democrats, Australian Greens, Pauline Hanson's One Nation, Family First Party and Citizens Electoral Council of Australia.

Date of Collection

Start date - Data Collection: 2007-12-04

End date - Data Collection: 2007-12-04

Time Period

Time Period - Start: 2007-12-04

Time Period - End: 2007-12-04

Geographic Coverage

National

Geographic Unit

State

Methodology

Content

Sampling Procedure

no sampling

Data Kind

survey

Response Rate

Of a total mailing of 950, there were 472 completed returns giving a raw response rate of 49%. An adjusted response rate of 50% was calculated by removing the out of scope sample (return to sender, n=8).

Data Access

Content

Deposit Information

Content

Depositor

Ian McAllister

Deposit Date

2008-07-23

Version

Version 1. 1 August, 2008

Other

Content

Unit of Analysis

Individual

Mode of Data Collection

self-completion (mail out - mail back)

Comment

The 2007 Australian Candidate Study is the eighth in a series of election studies on federal election candidates. In 2007, candidates from the following parties were surveyed - Australian Labor Party, Liberal Party of Australia, National Party of Australia, Australian Democrats, Australian Greens, Pauline Hanson's One Nation, Family First Party and Citizens Electoral Council of Australia.
The study examined the prominent election issues, including attitudes to particular economic issues, and opinions on which are the most critical problems facing Australia. Opinions on other political issues such as security relations with other countries, assistance for Aborigines and women, and social issues such as abortion and pornography were also sought. A section on demography and representation includes questions on the Australian democratic system, the role of the Monarchy and referendums
In addition, the survey asked questions relating to the political background, such as electoral history, party political involvement and membership of community organisations. A section on campaigning asked for the amount of time candidates spent on campaign activities and the amount of support received from various sources.
Background variables include age, country of birth, age when left school, number of years of tertiary study, religion, frequency of attending religious services, marital status, House contested and party affiliated with. Some of these variables have been grouped to ensure confidentiality for the candidates.

Pre-question Text: (FOR CANDIDATES WHO WERE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OR SENATE PRIOR TO THE ELECTION ONLY)
A.11. We are interested in the amount of time you spent in your electorate and what you did there.
a. Thinking back over the past year, about how many hours per month did you usually devote to the following activities within your electorate?

Pre-question Text: (FOR CANDIDATES WHO WERE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OR SENATE PRIOR TO THE ELECTION ONLY)
A.11. We are interested in the amount of time you spent in your electorate and what you did there.
a. Thinking back over the past year, about how many hours per month did you usually devote to the following activities within your electorate?

Pre-question Text: (FOR CANDIDATES WHO WERE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OR SENATE PRIOR TO THE ELECTION ONLY)
A.11. We are interested in the amount of time you spent in your electorate and what you did there.
a. Thinking back over the past year, about how many hours per month did you usually devote to the following activities within your electorate?

Pre-question Text: (FOR CANDIDATES WHO WERE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OR SENATE PRIOR TO THE ELECTION ONLY)
A.11. We are interested in the amount of time you spent in your electorate and what you did there.
a. Thinking back over the past year, about how many hours per month did you usually devote to the following activities within your electorate?

Pre-question Text: (FOR CANDIDATES WHO WERE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OR SENATE PRIOR TO THE ELECTION ONLY)
A.11. We are interested in the amount of time you spent in your electorate and what you did there.
a. Thinking back over the past year, about how many hours per month did you usually devote to the following activities within your electorate?

Pre-question Text: (FOR CANDIDATES WHO WERE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OR SENATE PRIOR TO THE ELECTION ONLY)
A.11. We are interested in the amount of time you spent in your electorate and what you did there.
a. Thinking back over the past year, about how many hours per month did you usually devote to the following activities within your electorate?

Pre-question Text: (FOR CANDIDATES WHO WERE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OR SENATE PRIOR TO THE ELECTION ONLY)

Question Text: b. Did you maintain an electoral office over the past year? Apart from during the election campaign, how many staff do (or did) you normally employ there?
Number of (full-time equivalent) staff

Pre-question Text: (FOR CANDIDATES WHO WERE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OR SENATE PRIOR TO THE ELECTION ONLY)
c. Again thinking back over the past year, about how many constituents’ problems would you receive in total in an average week? And excluding constituents, about how many other inquiries would you receive in total in an average week?

Pre-question Text: (FOR CANDIDATES WHO WERE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OR SENATE PRIOR TO THE ELECTION ONLY)
c. Again thinking back over the past year, about how many constituents’ problems would you receive in total in an average week? And excluding constituents, about how many other inquiries would you receive in total in an average week?

Pre-question Text: B.1. Some people receive encouragement from those around them when they decide to run for public office, while others experience indifference or disapproval.
How positive or negative were the following people in encouraging you to become a candidate in the 2007 election?

Pre-question Text: B.1. Some people receive encouragement from those around them when they decide to run for public office, while others experience indifference or disapproval.
How positive or negative were the following people in encouraging you to become a candidate in the 2007 election?